<p>while graders are technically not supposed to grade down for bad handwriting, it definitely does not help your cause. Think about it: If you were a grader, who has to read 200 essays everyday, and you’re grumpy and crabby because you hate reading SAT essays, and you get an essay with illegible handwriting. That will probably unconsciously factor into the grader’s impression of your essay. Now imagine that same grader, but with an essay that has beautiful handwriting. Now they can waste less time deciphering and more time getting to understand your writing style.</p>